Unlikely Advocates Fight For Gay Rights In Michigan CityLast June, the city council of Holland voted against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to local anti-discrimination laws. Now, religious leaders and Republicans have joined to pressure the council to change that vote.

In the small tourist town of Holland, Michigan, an unlikely group of religious leaders and conservatives are leading the fight for gay rights. Just this past June in the same town, the city council voted against a proposal to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

But as Michigan Radio's Lindsey Smith reports, the conservative leaders are taking up the cause, and this controversial small town debate is far from over.

LINDSEY SMITH, BYLINE: It's Wednesday night, the first Holland City Council meeting of the month. Holland Pastor Bill Freeman approaches the microphone for a public comment.

REVEREND BILL FREEMAN: OK. I come before you again - I know I sound like a broken record.

SMITH: Freeman is pushing Holland to adopt local laws that would protect people from getting fired or kicked out of their homes because they are gay, bisexual or transgender. Federal and Michigan laws protect residents from discrimination, but not based on a person's sexuality or gender identity. Freeman is not gay. He's married with kids.

FREEMAN: I think the only thing that might get them to change their mind is national attention. Not the kind of attention that a city like Holland would like to have when holidays come up and tulip time comes up.

SMITH: Holland is a summer tourist town on the shores of Lake Michigan, a community known for having a church on almost every corner and sending some of the most conservative lawmakers to Washington. Several Holland business owners have said they don't want to hire someone who is gay or transgender, much the same as they wouldn't want to hire someone covered with tattoos. Polly Cohen is a landlord in Holland.

POLLY COHEN: The fact of the matter is, as a landowner, as a business owner, you also have rights. I have the right to say, I don't want a smoker living in my duplex.

SMITH: This kind of comment doesn't surprise Pat Eldean. She and her husband have lived here for close to 40 years. She's a Republican and a business owner. She's put up a sign in front of her restaurant showing her support for the effort.

PAT ELDEAN: I think we lose business for various reasons. And if I did, so be it. But this is how I believe. This is my core value, is equality.

SMITH: The Piper Restaurant even hosted a fundraising gala last month for a new organization that's pushing city council members to change their vote. The group is known as Until Love is Equal. It was founded by Erin Wilson. He lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and three kids.

ERIN WILSON: There are economic concerns for West Michigan like attracting and retaining youth, customers coming here and feeling good about spending their money here. So we've got an image problem, and it traces back to a very small number of people who've got loud voices, who are clouding and murking up the water for the rest of us, and that's why we're here.

SMITH: You could call Western Michigan the Bible Belt of the Midwest. But Wilson points out that Grand Rapids - 30 miles east of Holland - passed the same anti-discrimination laws back in 1994. That's the same year as San Francisco. Plus, Saugatuck, Douglas and Kalamazoo, all cities less than an hour away from Holland, have passed these rules too. Until Love is Equal is compiling a list of businesses, like The Piper Restaurant, that support the anti-discrimination law. The list includes some of Holland's top employers, like furniture makers Hayworth and Herman Miller.

Meanwhile, Holland Pastor Bill Freeman faces a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail because he refused to leave Holland City Hall after a council meeting last month.

FREEMAN: I'm an eternal optimist. I mean, I stay around till the end of these meetings hoping that somebody will say: You know, Freeman makes a good point. I'll change my vote. Whether I'll be giving up more than just my Wednesday evenings will be up to the judge, I suppose.

SMITH: Freeman's attorney advised him against saying whether he plans to hold another sit-in at Holland City Hall. But he says if he does, this time, he won't be alone. For NPR News, I'm Lindsey Smith.

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